Takeaways from Celtics' preseason win over Nets

Takeaways from Celtics' preseason win over Nets

No matter how insignificant players and coaches say wins are in the preseason, they always want to come out on top if it’s a nail-biter to be decided in the final possessions of play.

So the Boston Celtics came away feeling pretty good about themselves following a 100-97 win over Brooklyn, a game in which the Celtics (3-1) closed out the night with an 8-2 run.

Finishing off a team on the road, regardless of how talent-challenged they may be, is never an easy thing to do. In the grand scheme of things, that would serve as just one of the many lessons learned by the Celtics on Thursday night.

Here’s a look at five other takeaways from the Celtics’ 100-97 victory over the Nets.

Starting five remains work in progress

This is a good thing because the last thing you want to see if you’re the Boston Celtics is the starting five playing their best basketball before the games actually count. Thursday night’s performance was easily the worst one of the preseason for this group in terms of scoring, defense and overall impact. But the best part about it is 1) they got the win and 2) it only strengthens their desire to improve going forward.

Jerebko the wild card

No one expects Jonas Jerebko to score 12 points, grab five rebounds and dish out three assists in 16 minutes like he did on Thursday. But it was the kind of performance that serves as a reminder as to how the 6-foot-10 veteran can quietly impact games in a big way. Throughout an 82-game regular season, no one should be surprised if we see a decent number of these kind of games from Jerebko.

Brown’s clutch factor

You never really know how a player will handle the pressure of late-game situations until they are actually put in one. That being said, Jaylen Brown easily passed his first test. The 6-7 rookie came up with the two biggest plays of the game, a behind-the-back pass to Jordan Mickey for a dunk and a pair of free throws with 7.9 seconds to play. He had a solid night off the bench with 10 points, three assists and two rebounds with one steal.

Horford remains Mr. Consistent

While Thursday wasn’t a good night for the Boston Celtics’ starting unit, that still didn’t prevent Al Horford from putting forth another impressive effort. He tallied a near double-double in just 21 minutes, as he finished with 13 points and nine rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting.

Marcus Smart’s ascension continues

The questions remain as to whether the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft will evolve into something more than Tony Allen 2.0. Well the more we see Smart play, the clearer it becomes that his game has improved on all levels -- most noticeably on the offensive end of the floor. On Thursday, he was all over the stat sheet with 13 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes. He’s not making as many shots as he would like (he was 4-for-10 on Thursday), but his mechanics by and large have been consistent. And his decision-making thus far has been much better than we saw in his first two seasons. It’s still preseason; I get that, but the areas he has shown growth in now are likely to be areas of improvement we see when the regular season starts.